One of the most common comments I get sounds something similar to, “We got this great sound system, and at first it was an awesome improvement from our old system. Now, though, it just sounds bad. I’m not sure what else we need to do!”

On one hand, I feel for these churches. They are right. They did invest in a good-sounding system. They believe the problem though, is with their gear. I think the problem, which is not the best word to use, though, lies someone else.

The number one reason I started this site, blog, business, etc., is because of this exact situation. A lot of churches think there is a problem with what they have, so they throw money at the wrong solution. Churches tend to focus on purchasing gear, acoustical treatments, or room rennovations.

It’s no one’s fault that the problem lies simply in the fact that the audio crew just has no direction or education on how to use the system correctly. After a new system is installed, the company selling the gear will probably configure it all, use some measuring equipment, and give a quick ‘training.’ This session ends up focusing on “This button does this,” and “That knob does that.” What something does is much different from how to use it.

If you system is experiencing some issues, I have 2 remedies. First of all, book me for a training seminar so I can come equip, educate and train your crew, band, and the whole team! Also, don’t worry about the overall system settings, but for each mic and input, once a month, flatten the EQs, remove the compressors and gates, and take all of the FX off of everything.

Once you have this blank slate, do a full-blown sound check. Start with the kick drum and set your gain so that the meter hits just under 0 (with the master fader also at 0). Play with the EQ and shape the sound. Now, move on to the snare. Go through all of your inputs before doing any compression, gating or FX.

Have the band all play a song. Make sure THEY ARE COMFORTABLE with monitors before moving on. There is no sense is mixing a band who is playing poorly because of bad monitors. Now you can consider FX to give some space to a snare or lead vocal. If you want to add a gate, make sure you have a good reason. What exactly are you hearing that you expect the gate to fix? Putting a compressor on a channel? Do not use a ratio higher than 4:1, and the gain reduction should never reach 10dB.

You’ll be surprised how much life this will bring back to your system. If you have quality mics, a good board, professional amps and well-placed speakers, then you shouldn’t have to tweak your inputs very much. Remember, that less is more, and keeping your configurations simple will be most beneficial. Hope it helps!